Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has made it clear that the stakes were high for him in the coming Lok Sabha election in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru constituencies.
Kicking off his three-day election campaign in the two Lok Sabha constituencies by addressing a rally on Monday at Biligere in his home constituency of Varuna, which is part of the Chamarajanagar (reserved for SC) Lok Sabha segment, Mr. Siddaramaiah made an impassioned appeal to people to give the Congress a lead of 60,000 votes in Varuna, but also indirectly linked his continuation in the Chief Minister’s post to the performance of the Congress candidate in the constituency.
Though the Varuna Assembly constituency is part of Mysuru district, the home constituency of Mr. Siddaramaiah is part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha segment along with Nanjangud, T. Narsipur, and H.D. Kote Assembly constituencies. Kollegal, Gundlupet, Chamarajanagar, and Hanur constitute the remaining four Assembly constituencies of the constituency.
60,000 lead sought
Introducing the Congress candidate Sunil Bose as Social Welfare Minister H.C. Mahadevappa’s son, Mr. Siddaramaiah appealed to the gathering to give him a lead of at least 60,000 votes. “If you give him a lead of 60,000 votes, I will be happy. Nobody will be able to touch me,” he said, before asking the voters for their overwhelming support to the Congress candidate if they wished to see him continuing at the helm.
Earlier, he thanked the voters of Varuna for electing him to the Assembly in 2013 and 2023, which helped him become Chief Minister on both occasions.
During his visit to Mysuru last week, Mr. Siddaramaiah not only addressed party workers from Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, and Kodagu districts – Virajpet and Madikeri Assembly constituencies of Kodagu are part of Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency – but also participated in functions to admit several leaders from the BJP and the JD(S) into the Congress.
By mentioning Mysuru and Chamarajanagar among the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies that the Congress was confident of winning, Mr. Siddaramaiah had indicated the significance he attached to the party’s victory in these constituencies.
Even though he was against fielding his son and former Varuna MLA Yathindra from Mysuru, Mr. Siddaramaiah has indicated that the candidature of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshmana, a Vokkaliga, has his backing.
After his campaign meetings in Varuna and T. Narsipur Assembly constituencies on Monday, Mr. Siddaramaiah will be addressing an election rally in Chamaraja Assembly constituency and holding a meeting with the Congress leaders of Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency on Tuesday.
Both Chamaraja and Chamundeshwari are part of the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency along with Krishnaraja, Narasimharaja, Hunsur, Periyapatna, and Madikeri and Virajpet segments of Kodagu district.
On Wednesday, Mr. Siddaramaiah is scheduled to accompany Sunil Bose and Mr. Lakshmana while they file their respective nomination papers in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru.
